Nvidia AI chips smuggling: Two Chinese nationals arrested in California

Two Chinese nationals were arrested in California and charged with illegally shipping tens of millions of dollars' worth of AI chips to China, including C H100s, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday. Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, exported the advanced Nvidia chips and other technology to China from October 2022 through July 2025 without obtaining the required licenses from the U.S. Commerce Department, a criminal complaint says. According to the complaint, Geng and Yang's El Monte-based company, ALX Solutions Inc, was founded in 2022, shortly after the U.S. imposed sweeping export controls on technology to China and began to require licenses for the chips.

A spokesperson for Nvidia declined comment.

Over 20 shipments from ALX solutions went to shipping and freight forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia, which are often used as transshipment points for illegal goods to China.


ALX received a $1 million payment from a China-based company in January 2024 and other payments from companies in Hong Kong and China, not the freight forwarding companies.

Nvidia H100s are advanced chips that can be used to train large language models and for other applications, such as developing self-driving cars and medical diagnosis systems.

Records show that from at least August 2023 to July 2024, ALX Solutions bought over 200 Nvidia H100 chips from San Jose, Calif-based server maker Super Micro Computer, declaring that the end users were in Singapore and Japan.

Super Micro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition to Nvidia's H100s, the pair are accused of illegally shipping Nvidia video graphics cards known as PNY GE Force RTX 4090, which also require a license for export to China.

Geng and Yang appeared in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles late Monday, according to the Justice Department. Geng, a permanent resident, was released on $250,000 bond. Yang, who overstayed her visa, has a detention hearing on August 12.

FAQs

Q1. Which company manufactures H100s chips?
A1. Nvidia manufactures H100s chips.

Q2. Were Nvidia chips getting smuggled?
A2. Over 20 shipments from ALX solutions went to shipping and freight forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia, which are often used as transshipment points for illegal goods to China.